No pact harming national interest has been reached with India: PM Dahal

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has clarified that no agreement harming the national interest has been reached with India.

Informing the meeting of the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee under the House of Representatives about the agreements signed between Nepal and India during the visit of Minister of External Affairs of India, S Jaishankar, to Nepal on January 4, he reiterated that no agreement has been reached that entails expenses outside of Nepal's system and mechanisms.

Mentioning the High Impact Community Development Project reached with India, PM Dahal clarified that this agreement was a continuation of the agreement before this and it has been made further systematic and improved.

"No such provision has been included in the agreement reached presently with India that allows the Indian side to unilaterally select and implement the project. The regular monitoring and also periodic review of the project implementation is done by the Government of Nepal apparatus," he said.

Committee members Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, Pratiksha Tiwari, Sobita Gautam, and Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan, among others, sought clarifications on this agreement from the PM.

The Prime Minister clarified that there was nothing in the agreements that needed to be concealed after lawmaker Bartaula demanded that the government provide to the parliament and the Committee the written document of the agreement.

PM Dahal also on the occasion informed the Committee about the long-term power trade agreement, the agreement related to putting Nepal's nano-satellite in space, and the agreement on renewable energy reached between the two countries during the Indian External Affairs Minister's visit to Nepal.

According to him, an agreement has been reached, as per the understanding made during his visit to India before this, for exporting 10,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal to India in the next 10 years and this agreement has opened the door for power trade between the two countries.

Similarly, the PM said, an agreement has been reached by which New Space India Limited of India will at its own expense put into orbit the nano-satellite developed by Nepali students and another agreement has been signed between Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and the NTPC of India for carrying out capacity development works and conducting programs including training between them.

As the PM said, preparations are being made to move ahead work on the Pancheshwar Multi-purpose Project by finalizing its detailed project report (DPR) within some days.